Hello, everyone, and welcome once more to your daily News & Rumors here at the People's site, TPWW.net. I've had some pressing issues my last few assigned days, but I'm back and better than ever. We've had some interesting developments over the past few days, so let's drop the foreplay and get straight to the news and rumors.
Last night, as usual, the WWF put on yet another very entertaining installment of its midweek show, WWF SmackDown!. We saw an Intercontinental Title change, referee Earl Hebner's first-ever wrestling match, and the continuation of the Eddy/Chyna and Essa/Lita feud. SmackDown! scored an excellent 5.3 rating with an 8.5 share, meaning that 8.5 percent of all national televisions were set to UPN. On another note, fans in Philadelphia did not get to see SmackDown!, due to the Flyers/Pittsburgh game which the Flyers won in five overtime periods. I'm friggin' TIRED from listening to that game so late.
In a press release, the WWF stated that they had indeed bought back the outstanding ownership of the WWF NY restaurant. As many sources have said on numerous occasions, the WWF did not like how the restaurant was being marketed, and that it did not sufficiently provide the WWF "feel".
The Variety magazine stated today that Viacom will be merged under the corporate umbrella of the MTV Networks (which includes all of the MTV networks, all of the Nickelodeon networks, and The Box). CEO Tom Freston, of MTV Networks, said that he is confident that a legal resolution to the WWF/USA/Viacom situation will be arrived at by June. I'm still dying to see a copy of the WWF/USA contract to see if USA has a case, because I for one am not enthused about the possibility of RAW is WAR going to *gasp* that Godforsaken Nashville Network.
The Village Voice has published a mildly interesting article on professional wrestling, commenting on how it can be simultaneously homoerotic and homophobic in its presentation. The article looks specifically at the WWF and also refers to WCW's conflict with GLAAD over Lenny & Lodi and the West Hollywood Blondes gimmick. For heaven's sakes, will these people ever quit? I thought one Phil Mushnick was bad enough...
On one note from last night's SmackDown!, it appears as though the Dudley Boyz have now commenced a full-fledged face turn. During the main event, they ran in to make the save on The Rock and his team.
One rumor that's been flying around lately is that the WWF's Judgment Day Pay-Per-View website has been hacked, at WWFJudgementDay.com. However, that isn't true, because the WWF's Judgment Day site's URL is what it SHOULD be, WWFJudgmentDay.com. I'm not sure WHY the word Judgement/Judgment is spelled incorrectly by the WWF, but whatcha gonna do about it?
In one of the day's biggest tidbits, on his website, Lenny Lane stated that he IS GOING to the WWF in ninety days, after the expiration if his current contract. I now am pretty sure that's the source of Lodi's irate comments towards Lenny on his website, at LodiPage.com. Should be interesting to see what Vince & Company have in store for the former West Hollywood Blonde.
TPWW's former Downtown Dave has conducted an interview with WCW's Vince Russo for WrestleLine.com, which can be viewed in audio and text HERE. Among the things discussed were the Survivor Series '97 Bret Hart incident, putting the WCW Title on David Arquette, Bill Busch, Mike Awesome and more. I'd advise all of you to check it out, it contains some great insights.
On Jimmy Baron's 99.7 FM "Morning X Show", yesterday, Bill Goldberg was the special guest, and stated that he plans to return at the June 5th Monday Nitro. That's certainly great news for WCW, as Goldberg severely injured his hand back in January and has been out of action since. That's also a good thing because the WCW title will almost certainly be off the waist of David Arquette and most likely around Jeff Jarrett's.
On WCW Live!, Mike Awesome said that he'd love to have Judge Jeff Jones in WCW alongside him. The odds are WCW has already sent feelers out to Jones, if Awesome said this.
On the WCW Hotline recently, Mark Madden stated that we can expect to see Randy Savage at the Slamboree PPV. He also said that Perry Saturn isn't exactly in the good graces of the WWF right now, given the fact that he is somewhat responsible for the devastating injury to Tazz, and that he often gives insider news bits to dirtsheet reporters (the dirtsheets, BTW, are the periodicals such as the Wrestling Observer and the Pro Wrestling Torch.)
Now, we go on to something that has been tearing at my mind for two days now. The first pictures of ECW Anarchy Rulz. What can I say? Acclaim has now proved beyond any reasonable doubt that its sole interests lie in profit margins, and that the enjoyment and satisfaction if its paying consumers has taken a backseat to the almighty dollar. We were promised an entirely new engine, and what did we get? Yet another rehash of the Crappitude engine. I'll be the first to admit, that I still play WWF War Zone on a regular basis, but for the love of God, THIS IS NOT ECW!!!! It was a fighting engine, it is a fighting engine, and it will always BE a fighting game engine. I am now seriously considering not purchasing any Acclaim products in the future, and while my hard-earned $50 bucks may not mean a damn thing to Acclaim, but the collective cash of a lot of consumers may mean a hell of a lot to their bean-counters. You all know what I'm implying.
On Shawn Michaels' TWA website, the news page said that "Paul Heyman of ECW and Shawn Michaels hope to co-promote a string of shows in South Central Texas capping it off with an ECW/TWA Pay-Per View." The TWA certainly has taken some giant leaps in recent times, with ECW stars appearing and the relationship between Justin Credible and Shawn Michaels.
News is slow, so I think I'll cap off this N&R; report with a brief predictions list for WCW Slamboree:
David Arquette v. DDP v. Jeff Jarrett, WCW World Title - I'm positive the strap is getting yanked from Deputy Dewey-boy, and if WCW is going to follow through on having Goldberg chase the title, they need to have it on a heel, which is Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett wins.I know there's other matches, but those are the big ones. Enjoy ECW on TNN tonight, WCW Slamboree (for those who ordered), and the weekend shows. See you next Wednesday, and have a great day, everybody.Kidman v. Hogan - Gotta stick with Kidman, here, as his character seems simply rejuvenated with the New Blood angle.
Scott Steiner v. Hugh Morrus - Couldn't honestly say that Morrus is going anywhere quick, so I'll give the win to Steiner with the Steiner Recliner.
Ric Flair v. Shane Douglas - This match has been a long time coming, but I think Flair will eke out the win, in a very close match.
Chris Candido v. TAFKAPI - I have to say that Candido retains. Iaukea's become very uninteresting as of late, and with the imminent return of Rey Mysterio Jr. and Juventud Guerrera to the Cruiserweight scene, the picture will get really crowded really quick.
Tim Brechlin
Tim@tpww.net